‘The two of us!’ she said, her eyes welling with tears.
‘Yes, the two of us. Why wouldn’t it work? Maybe I’m too old … I’m sixty-two, for God’s sake, and you are only in your thirties, I have no right to—’
‘I’m thirty-nine, Rob. I’ll be forty in December,’ she said, gripping his arm. ‘Age does not matter!’
‘Are you sure about that?’ he teased. ‘I’m old enough to be your father.’
‘You are nothing like my father.’ She laughed. ‘Anyway that’s not an issue,’ she said, touching his face and tracing his jawline with her fingers. ‘So don’t even think it!’
‘I don’t think it!’ he admitted honestly. ‘When I am with you I feel different. Young again, as if I’m starting over. I have another chance. I loved Kate with all my heart and will always miss her, but this is something new, something different. A chance to begin again.’
‘I’d like that,’ she said.
‘I want to be with you … not just for a few hours, or a day or two here or there, but to become a proper part of your life, Tessa.’
‘I want that, too,’ she said. ‘I thought that first night when we were at Gemma and Paul’s and we were dancing that I was imagining it, but when Mum died, the only person I wanted to call, to really be there, was you! I can’t explain it … I don’t know why, but I just knew that I needed you, and that I could rely on you to be there for me.’
‘Cancel your flights and those appointments, Tessa. Don’t go to London! We both know loss and loneliness,’ he said, his eyes staring into hers. ‘Maybe we both need a new beginning.’
‘But it’s all booked and organized,’ she said, trying not to cry as she saw the expression on his handsome face.
‘Unbook it! I don’t want you to go. I’m here for you, Tessa, here for whenever you need me,’ he promised, pulling her into his arms.
*
They sat on the sand until the sun had almost gone down, talking about the future, what would happen if she stayed, making plans together. Both decided to give their relationship the chance to grow and develop; they wanted to discover if they could love each other.
Chapter Fifty
Alice checked to see how Sean was doing. His face was pale and strained, and she knew that he was nervous about seeing Dara, who had finally come home from hospital. They had talked on the phone and texted each other over the past weeks, but she hoped that seeing each other again wouldn’t bring back bad memories of the car crash.
Catherine O’Loughlin rushed to open the door, flinging her arms around Sean and bursting into tears.
‘Sean Kinsella, I never thought that I’d see you walk back through that door again!’
Sean didn’t know what to say, and just hugged her back.
She led Sean and Alice into the sitting room, where Dara was on a leather armchair. Wearing jeans and a hoodie, he looked pale and very thin and fragile. Sean gave a whoop of joy and flung himself into his best friend’s arms.
Alice and Catherine discreetly retired to the kitchen where they could talk at their ease and leave their sons together.
Alice had made a dozen and half chocolate brownies, the type she knew Dara liked, and had brought them over.
‘Thanks Alice, they’re Dara’s favourites. I’ll make some coffee and give them into them.’
‘How is he?’ Alice asked.
‘Great … it’s so great to have Dara back home with us … but he’s changed. Sometimes I find him crying … thinking about it, going back over it! If only we hadn’t given him that bloody car for his birthday!’
‘That had nothing to do with it,’ reminded Alice. ‘It wasn’t Dara’s fault, you know that, Catherine.’
‘I know, but if he hadn’t been driving he would have been nowhere near where the accident happened that night.’
‘The truck driver, God rest him, had a massive heart attack. It was a freak accident, a one in a million. Dara and Sean had nothing to do with it!’
‘But our boys were there!’ Catherine insisted. ‘They were in the wrong place at the wrong time! Dara’s been so sick. We thought we’d lose him.’
‘I know,’ said Alice, reaching for her hand. ‘It’s been awful.’
‘He has liver problems, no spleen and has had most of his lower body crushed.’
‘He’s alive, they both are! Listen, they are laughing and joking. We got our sons back,’ Alice said encouragingly. ‘OK, so they are damaged, but they’re young, they’ll recover. Every day Sean is getting a bit better, and I’m sure that Dara is the same.’
An hour later Alice got ready to go. Sean was sitting in beside Dara, the two of them listening to one of their favourite bands on Dara’s iPod, and chatting away like old times.
‘I’ll drive him home in another two hours,’ promised Catherine. ‘We don’t want them to get overtired.’
‘It’s going to be Sean’s twenty-first in ten days,’ reminded Alice. ‘He’s not up to a big party yet, so we are just going to have a bit of a family dinner, but we would love it if you and Ciaran and Dara could come along, too.’
‘That sounds great,’ agreed Catherine. ‘We wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
At home Alice did a few things, including checking up on the menus for tonight’s class. Rob had put in a special request to learn how to make a proper shepherd’s pie, and she was also going to show them all how to make choux pastry and chocolate éclairs. Emmet had phoned her to ask if he could come over ahead of the others as he wanted to discuss his new business venture with her. He’d brought her along to see the empty shop, and Alice had had to agree it was an ideal spot for a café. Being an architect, he had all kinds of décor ideas, and he was such a perfectionist he was sure to get it right. She was happy to advise him on food and menus and equipment, and, from her own experience, what she thought he could do to make the café work.
Throwing off her shoes, she lazed back on the couch. As Lexy settled beside her Alex rang.
She liked the sound of his voice, and hoped that no one in his office was listening to their conversation as they arranged to join Joy and Fergus for a bite to eat in Gleesons tomorrow night – it was high time they all met up. They also made plans for a romantic night away on Saturday in Ardmore, in a beautiful hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant and views to die for.
‘And don’t forget the following Saturday we are having Sean’s twenty-first birthday dinner here. I’m dying to introduce you to everyone!’
Sean had already met Alex and had insisted she bring him along, as Liam would be bringing Elaine.
Chapter Fifty-one
Lucy stood at hatch 5, waiting her turn. Brian was behind it as usual.
He passed her the regulation unemployment benefit form that she had to sign and she passed it back to him.
‘You need to sign it,’ he reminded her, ‘otherwise you cannot go and collect your money.’
‘I’m signing off today.’ She grinned. ‘I’m coming off the dole. I’ve got a job.’
‘Oh! Where?’ he asked.
‘Selling T-shirts!’ she opened her denim jacket and let him see her ‘Busy Stargazing’ T-shirt.
‘My boyfriend and I make and sell these,’ she explained. ‘We’ve set up a T-shirt business!’
She could see straight away that Brian the dole official was interested.
‘That’s great, Lucy, really great. It’s fantastic to hear some good news in this office!’
‘I brought you a present.’ She reached into her bag and got out a large-size ‘Busy Queuing’ T-shirt with ‘hatch 5’ on it and gave it to him.
‘Hey.’ He laughed, looking at it and recognizing his hatch number. ‘That’s cool!’
‘We’ve sold quite a few already.’ She laughed. ‘They’re very popular, but I’m kind of glad that I won’t be queuing here any more!’
She met Finn afterwards, outside on the step. Both of them had signed off.
‘Coffee?’ He grinned as they made their way to the usu
al spot.
It was late, and Lucy looked at the screen of her laptop. She had butterflies in her stomach with nerves as she clicked on the link to their new website. Duggy and his friend Killian had done a great job, and she laughed as she looked at the photos of Finn and herself outside the dole office in their ‘Busy’ T-shirts. Then there were photos of them in the Temple Bar market selling them with Duggy in his ‘Busy’ T-shirt. There was also a funny section with the story of how ‘Busy’ T-shirts came into existence, and the inspiration behind the ‘Busy’ brand.
She checked out the page of designs with sizes and prices and the payment options. It looked really cool and edgy, and was easy to negotiate, which was important. There was a ‘follow us’ link to Twitter and a link to their Facebook page, and she couldn’t believe how many people had already uploaded photos of themselves wearing a ‘Busy’ T-shirt.
She recognized two or three of the bands she had sent T-shirts to, and couldn’t believe it, but they had actually worn them at gigs and when they were doing publicity shots. Maybe Duggy could do a link to the bands’ Myspace so fans could check out the music and the T-shirts!
Finn was busy on the other side of the room at the big kitchen table they had bought in IKEA. He’d had another idea and was sketching out a rough concept: ‘Busy Boarding’ with a guy jumping the waves on his surfboard!
She loved it.
‘Hey!’ he said, pulling her onto his lap and kissing her. ‘None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you, Lucy.’ He touched her face with his finger. ‘You are the best thing that has ever happened to me … you are my lucky charm. My other half. My better half.’
‘And you’re mine.’ She felt exactly the same way about him, too. The minute they had moved in to the flat together it had felt like they were always meant to be together.
Suddenly he got up and disappeared into the bedroom. He came back a few seconds later, knelt down on the floor near her, and took her hand.
‘Lucy, I hope it’s not too soon, but I really love you, and I want to ask you something really important: will you marry me?’
Lucy flung her arms around him, the two of them falling in a heap on the rug on the wooden floor.
‘Of course I’ll marry you, Finn,’ she said, burying her face in his chest, trying not to let tears of sheer happiness engulf her. ‘I love you so much.’ She gulped and sniffed as Finn gave her the ring.
It was small and perfect – a simple diamond on a slim platinum band – and it fitted her finger perfectly.
‘Finn McEvoy, we’re broke! You know we don’t have the money to buy a ring,’ she protested, shushed by his lips kissing her, his hands on her waist and hips.
It was only as she began to unbutton his shirt she noticed Finn’s new T-shirt. It was black and white, and showed a guy and a girl kissing, and the words: ‘Busy Loving You!’
Chapter Fifty-two
Over the busy June bank holiday weekend Matt and Kerrie decided that they would visit both families. On Saturday they would go to Kerrie’s parents’ house to meet some of her family, and on the Sunday she would go down to Moyle House with him.
From the corner of her eye Kerrie watched Matt’s expression as they drove to Tallaght and turned off the main road and into Riverfield Estate. Passing row after row of white and grey houses almost identical to each other, it was very different from his world, she knew, but this was her place, where she grew up, and he needed to understand that.
It was really hot, and they were both in cut-off jeans and T-shirts, Matt bringing along wine, beer and sweets for her family, while Kerrie had made a strawberry tart for dessert and bought a large tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Everyone was in the back garden, and her dad had the barbecue lit. Her mum and Mike and Niamh, Martina and Darren were all sitting under the green parasol at the big wooden garden table and chairs. Johnny was helping her dad, and a smaller table was set up for the kids, who were all racing around and playing, the toddlers down at the old sand pit with buckets and spades.
‘Welcome,’ said her mam, hugging them and getting up to get everyone drinks.
Matt was polite, getting to know everyone and shaking their hands, and playing football with little Jamie, Emma and Rory.
Her dad was busy cooking hamburgers and sausages, his face red from the heat of the charcoal as he flipped and turned them, and there were buns and salad and a big bowl of her mother’s potato salad. Kerrie and Johnny’s wife Fidelma passed around the plates of hot food to everyone.
‘This is great,’ said Matt, slathering tomato ketchup and raw onions on to his burger as little Jamie sat on his lap munching a massive ketchup-covered sausage, and destroyed his clean T-shirt.
‘He’s gorgeous,’ whispered Martina, when Matt went off upstairs to try to wash some of it off. ‘No wonder you kept him so well hidden,’ she teased. ‘When is the wedding? France in September, isn’t it? With Darren only just back working you know we won’t be able to go. You’ll just have to count us out.’
‘And I’ll be the size of a house by then!’ added the pregnant Nicola.
Embarrassed, Kerrie suddenly felt less certain about going away to get married. Why shouldn’t her brothers and sisters and little nieces and nephews be there? They were her flesh and blood. But the chances of rearranging things and finding a venue for a wedding in Ireland would probably be pretty impossible at this late stage.
‘Hey,’ said Matt, reappearing in a tight-fitting clean grey Harvard T-shirt.
‘Shannon gave me this to change into.’ He laughed as Kerrie’s younger sister appeared behind him.
‘Sit here,’ insisted Kerrie, making sure Shannon had a big burger and all the trimmings. ‘It’s brain food.’
‘I’ll take a little break for an hour and then I’ll go back to study,’ Shannon promised.
‘What a girl!’ said her dad. ‘Shannon is up in that attic room of hers studying so hard. She’s just like Kerrie was, stuck to the books!’
‘My exams are in a few days, Da,’ protested Shannon. ‘I’d want to be stuck to the books!’
Afterwards Kerrie’s brother Mike got down her dad’s guitar and began a sing-song with everyone joining in. Mike sang some Radiohead and Thin Lizzy songs. Then Martina sang some Mary Black before her dad took over and did some Dylan and Elvis.
‘I told you my dad was great,’ said Kerrie proudly. Matt sang along, too, Jamie back up on his lap again. She looked round at the garden, filled with her mother’s plants and flowers and the big old mountain ash tree. Everyone had a drink and was relaxing in the deckchairs as the light began to fade and the sun went down. It was getting time to pack up and head home. The kids were getting tired, little Emma sucking her thumb as she curled up in her mammy’s lap.
‘Sit down, Ma, and I’ll make you and Dad some coffee,’ Kerrie offered, disappearing into the kitchen.
‘This is always the time of evening I like best during the summer,’ said her dad. ‘The older ones are out playing in the road, and the smaller ones are ready for bed, and your mother and I can just sit out here in the garden and take our ease. Watch the sun go down!’
Matt reached for Kerrie’s hand as she brought in the coffee and they sat in the garden chatting for a long while before saying their goodbyes.
‘I like them,’ said Matt as they drove home. ‘The more I get to know your mum and dad, the more I appreciate them. Your family are great, and Shannon seems a lot like you. Jamie is a bit of a handful, but just the kind of kid I hope we have some day.’
‘Hey, we have to get married first!’ she said, suddenly turning serious. ‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Matt, getting married. I’m not sure about having the wedding in France any more … it’s just so far away.’
‘I thought that’s what you wanted: to have this small exclusive wedding with only our parents and a few family members and close friends present.’
‘I did … but now I’ve changed my mind.’
He laughed
aloud. ‘I hoped that maybe you might.’
‘I want all my family there,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve been so absolutely stupid, Matt. So caught up in this fabrication of mine … My brothers and sisters can’t afford to pay for expensive flights to the South of France and hotels in high season! Who’d mind their kids?’
‘Finances are a bit tight on my side of the family too, at present,’ Matt teased.
‘I’ve been such a fecking wagon!’
‘Mmm,’ he said, agreeing with her.
‘If it’s not too late, Matt, do you think we could have the wedding in Ireland? There must be somewhere that could take the crowd!’
Chapter Fifty-three
The next day they drove to Moyle House. Kerrie was shocked to see the auctioneers’ huge ‘For Sale’ sign attached to the railings beside the gateway as they drove up to the house.
‘How are they both taking it?’ she asked.
‘Badly!’
The dogs ran up to greet them, and Kerrie patted Lady on the head as Maureen Hennessy came out to welcome them.
Maureen looked tired, as if the stuffing had been knocked out of her; she had lost some of her strength and vitality.
‘Where’s Dad?’ asked Matt.
‘He’s in the sitting room reading the paper.’
Dermot Hennessy seemed to be dozing in the armchair, his chin on his chest. The abandoned newspaper was spread loosely across his lap.
‘Dad,’ said Matt gently. ‘Dad.’
Dermot Hennessy began to stir and, stretching his arms and shoulders, he woke up.
‘Good to see you, Matt, boy, and Kerrie.’
Kerrie was shocked at the change in him too. He seemed to have shrunk, and his colour wasn’t good. He looked so pale.
‘Just having a read of the Sunday papers … lot of rubbish, most of it!’
Feeling awkward, Kerrie slipped away upstairs with her bag. Matt and his dad needed time on their own together.
A Taste for Love Page 26